So I bet you all thought Bill C-61 was dead and buried when parliament was dissolved? OH NO. NO SIR. You see, after C-61 was put into the ground by the public and the opposition, the Conservative policy makers snuck into the graveyard at midnight. They dug up C-61, patched it together with stitches and bolts, and gave it a shiny new abbynormal brain. As soon as they can form a government, they'll throw the switch and bring it back to life.

That is to say, according to the Conservative platform:

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will reintroduce federal copyright legislation that strikes the appropriate balance among the rights of musicians, artists, programmers and other creators and brings Canada's intellectual property protection in line with that of other industrialized countries, but also protects consumers who want to access copyright works for their personal use. We will also introduce tougher laws on counterfeiting and piracy and give our customs and law enforcement services the resources to enforce them.

You can bet that, as before, the definition of "appropriate balance" will differ from that of technologically-minded Canadians. I remind you that Bill C-61's verbiage absurdly made a crime of such mundane activities as ripping a DVD, unlocking a cell phone, or in any way breaking a "digital lock" to utilize art or technology that you paid for.

So as your local tech-adept, I implore you all to vote ABC: Anyone But Conservative. But furthermore, I encourage you to vote strategically. If you're a NDPer in a Liberal-strong riding, consider voting Liberal. If you're a Liberal in an NDP stronghold (like me!), consider voting NDP. Check the 2006 voting results for more details. If the Liberals and the NDP both have a strong showing in Parliament, they may consider forming a coalition majority government. Then we won't even have to worry about bumbled copyright legislation like Bill C-61.